Video systems for use in broadcast television, cable television, closed circuit television, computer systems and the like are well known. According to such video systems, a video signal from a camera is ultimately provided to a display device, such as a television or computer monitor. Frequently, the video signal is recorded upon a medium, such as videotape, hard drive or a DVD disc, prior to being displayed upon the display device.
The video signal may be generated, stored, and displayed according to one of a number of different standards. The National Television System Committee (NTSC), Phase Alternation by Line (PAL), and System Electronique Couleur Avec Memoire (SECAM) standards are examples of such standards. The NTSC standard is used in North America and Japan. The PAL standard is used in most of the rest of the world, with the exception of France, parts of Greece, Eastern Europe, Russia, and Africa, where SECAM is utilized. Other standards, as well as variations of these standards, also exist.
These standards were, for the most part, formulated when television was in its infancy. Out of necessity, the standards had to define a system for facilitating the generation, broadcast and display of a video signal which could be accommodated by the electronic equipment of that earlier time. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the electronic equipment that existed when these standards were being formulated had comparatively limited bandwidth and dynamic range with respect to modern video equipment. That is, the circuits designed and the components selected could only accommodate a limited bandwidth and dynamic range, as reflected by the appropriate standard.
Further, in order to provide video equipment at competitive prices, manufactures at that earlier time and for some time thereafter used components having greater tolerances than is common today. The use of components having 10 and 15 percent tolerances on the critical values was common.
The use of components having such limited bandwidth and dynamic range, as well as such wide tolerances, inherently limited the capability of the devices made therewith to handle video signals. That is, video signals processed by such equipment were limited to those signals which closely met the appropriate standard (such as the NTSC standard in the United States).
However, contemporary video devices commonly use components and circuits which are capable of processing video signals which do not strictly comply with video standards. That is, contemporary video devices are generally fabricated so has to have greater bandwidth than that required by the NTSC standard, for example, and also typically use components that have much tighter tolerance that earlier devices. This is due, at least in part, to improve manufacturing techniques with respect to both the components and the video devices themselves. Still, the compromises are incorporated in all resulting products, brands from the art.
Moreover, the quality of contemporary video devices resulting from such improvements in circuit bandwidth and dynamic range, as well as improved component tolerances, facilitates the use of non-standard waveforms according to the present invention. These non-standard waveforms provide improvements to the aesthetic appeal of a video image displayed using the video devices. For example, the improved quality of a contemporary video device frequently facilitates the use of waveforms having quicker rise and fall times (corresponding to higher frequency components thereof) and having greater amplitude or other non-standard signal levels, as compared to the appropriate standard.
Thus, although such contemporary video devices have proven generally suitable for their intended purposes, they possess inherent deficiencies and compromises which detract from their overall effectiveness and desirability. For example, contemporary video devices do not take full advantage of the quality of the components and circuits thereof to provide the best possible picture. This is the “its good enough” syndrome.
As such, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus for improving video which, among other things, takes advantage of the improvment quality of contemporary video devices so as to permit the use of newly shaped and retimed video signal waveforms which do not necessarily comply strictly with the appropriate standard.
Further, in spite of the improvements in bandwidth and dynamic range for contemporary video devices, these devices still have finite bandwidth and dynamic range. Thus, it is further desirable to provide a method and apparatus for improving the video waveforms which, among other things, optimizes the operation and picture quality results of a video device within the constraints of such a finite bandwidth and dynamic range.